Dinner at Ishida's
by nastazia indark
Summary: Orihime persuaded Uryuu to call Ryuuken over for dinner.Will she break the ice between them?Written for Ryuuken's bday.


DISCLAIMER: Orihime and the Ishidas belong to Tite Kubo. I only own Ryuuken's smile (yay! XD )  
>I know Ryuuken is OOC here,but I wanted him to give a little bit of tenderness to his son.<br>Written for Ryuuken's birthday (March 14th) .Happy birthday Ryuuken-san! :3  
>Dedicated to my dad who has his birthday today,in the 13th,and is Ryuuken-like with his you,dad. 3 Happy birthday. :P<p>

* * *

><p>One step. Two steps. Three steps.<p>

Feeling his father's reiatsu closing in, getting stronger and stronger by the second, Ishida Uryuu sighed distressed. He didn't wish to see Ryuuken. But Orihime –being…well, Orihime- wouldn't give him any  
>space to refuse. Giving him one of the smiles she reserved only for him and literally <em>purring<em> against his neck, she insisted that they should call him for dinner. As it was only logical, he tried to object-but when  
>she suddenly started nibbling on his neck, he lost every sense of reasoning he had. <em>Damn woman<em>, he thought. _You know me WAY too well_.

"Uryuu!"

A poke at his ribs made him snap out of his thoughts. He looked at Orihime puzzled, as she snickered.

"Your father will be here soon! So please, have your mind for the doorbell!"

"Don't call him my father, Hime. He's _Ryuuken_."

"He's _your father_. No matter what you say, he's your father. Stop denying it!"

He sighed. He opened his mouth to protest, but just then the doorbell rang, and she nodded to Uryuu.

"Do I have time to leave? I could use hirenkyakou and sneak out of the bedroom window." ,he mused aloud. Her response was a teasing tug at his bangs, which was followed by her pushing him towards the door.

He finally decided to open the door with a sigh. And there _he_ was, standing in front of his apartment, holding a bouquet of flowers, his face scowling _as usual_. Ryuuken's reiatsu felt so _bitter_, so _full of edges_ as he stared at his son's eyes. Uryuu glared back as he nodded politely. Ryuuken's reiatsu felt _so damn annoying_ to him at the moment. But he felt something more, something he couldn't clear out just yet.

"Good evening, Ryuuken." , Uryuu said in a cold –yet polite- manner.

"Uryuu…" , Ryuuken began to say, but he was interrupted by the sight of an auburn-haired head sneaking behind his son's back, flashing a big grin. Finally, Orihime showed her whole self and stood happily next to Uryuu.

"Good evening, Ishida-san!"

"Thank you for inviting me, Inoue-san." , Ryuuken said as he stepped in to his son's apartment –the apartment he never set foot upon until _his son's girlfriend_ invited him to, he thought with some remorse. He stretched his hand to greet her, and it stayed mid-air as Orihime, instead of shaking his hand, leapt forward and hugged him, leaving both Ishidas at a loss for words. One arm wrapped tentatively around her shoulders to return the gesture. _How odd_, the silver-haired man thought. _Is this what a hug feels like_? He felt like he had forgotten that people are capable of such displays of affection.

Of course… He never felt close to his only son. Especially after his wife passed away. That, and the loss of his father, turned him to a rather cold man, for everyone around him. His only way to escape was by working. He worked to forget. But on the way he realized that he had forgot much more than what he needed to-_his son_, for example.

Up until now, he never regretted-he came to the conclusion that bonds lead to weakness, to loss, to pain. But…here he was, feeling a strange kind of _warmth_as he held that cheerful girl in his arms. She let go with a smile and, trying to break the awkward silence between father and son, she took each one's hand in hers and gracefully led them to the dining table.

* * *

><p>As she chirped around happily, placing plates of food and bottles of drink, Uryuu and Ryuuken exchanged uneasy looks. None of them tried to begin a conversation, so Orihime stepped between them as she set the table and started talking about this and that. Small casual chat, just to warm up the atmosphere around the two men a little. Finally, she took her seat on the table. Next to Uryuu, right across from Ryuuken. Right then and there, Uryuu turned to look at Orihime, and he smiled at her. Ryuuken instantly felt the change in his son with bemusement. <em>What's with this girl<em>? , he thought. Did she just made Uryuu _smile_? The elder Ishida struggled to recall the last time he saw his son smiling. Unfortunately, he almost _failed_ to recall such a moment. And right then and there was when the realization struck him. He _liked_ to see his son smiling. He _wanted_ to see his son smiling more. How odd…

Orihime broke his train of thoughts with a bright smile.

"Ishida-san? Are you enjoying the dinner?"

He found himself smiling back. This girl was so strange. She seemed to brighten his mood, somehow. "Yes Inoue-san, thank you."

"Ano…Ishida-san…Do you think you could call me Orihime? Everyone I want to feel…ehm…_close to_ calls me that. Well, except for your son, he's always too much of a gentleman to call me by my given name. But this makes me feel old! Maybe you could be his example!"

Ryuuken couldn't help but laugh at her babbling. Uryuu seemed shocked at the new sound. He secretly swore that this was a novelty to him. He didn't even thought that his father had _ever _laughed again. He turned and looked at his girl in admiration, and she returned the look with tenderness.

"Your family must be really cheerful, as you" , Ryuuken noted, amused by the scene going on in front of him. Uryuu scowled at his remark, but Orihime, still smiling, turned to the silver-haired man. "I don't know sir…I don't really remember my parents. My brother took me away from them when I was a kid. He said that they were _very bad_. So, he raised me up himself. But it's been years since he died." Uryuu took her hand in his, and she went on. "But it's okay! I'm not sad. Sora wouldn't be at peace if I was sad. And after all, I have my friends. And my family." She turned to look at Uryuu, who flushed and looked away.

Ryuuken frowned deeply and tried to find something to say. But Orihime didn't let him say a word, for she wished to go on. "Ishida-san…I want to ask you a favor. Please, be around here more." She made a circle with her index to show the apartment. "I know that you and Uryuu have never been close… But I really think you should! You don't want to regret things that you missed from your son and things he missed from you! And you two are so much alike, more than what you would admit! It would be a real shame if you lived your whole lives as strangers!"

Father and son exchanged an extremely awkward stare and the silence between them seemed like it was dragged on _for ages_. Finally the elder Ishida, much to his son's surprise, was the first to break this uneasy silence, after he slightly nodded, showing his consent. "You're right, young lady…Regretting about things you've done is better than regretting about things you haven't done in your life…" Uryuu couldn't believe his the first time after all these years, he found himself referring to Ryuuken as _father _in his mind. The newness of this was almost thrilling, and it made him smile a little.

* * *

><p>As the dinner went on, Orihime made things friendlier among the two men. They both heard her talking about carefree things and laughing, and this made them enjoy themselves more. When she announced that it was time for dessert, Uryuu offered to help her clean the table, but she refused and she marched into the kitchen. Both were surprised when they saw her coming back shortly after, carrying a cake with one lit candle on top of it, while humming a birthday song happily.<p>

Two pairs of blue eyes turned and looked at her buffled.

"What? Don't you tell me you forgot what day it is today!"

Silence fell upon the room.

She rolled her eyes. "It's March the fourteenth, duh! It's Ishida-san's _birthday_! How could _BOTH_ of you forget about it?" She snickered as she placed the cake in front of Ryuuken, and then proceeded on hugging him lightly. "Happy birthday sir! I'm sorry I didn't get you a present… But I didn't have enough time, plus I didn't know what to take you, and I wanted something that you'd like, and…."

He gestured to her to stop talking and she instantly complied. He looked at his son first, then at Orihime and smiled. "Don't worry, young lady. You already gave me your gift. Thank you."

And he really meant it.


End file.
